Tiscali IPTV Fails in Italy

The Italian ISP Tiscali will cease its Tiscali TV IPTV service at the end of 2008. No reason was given for the termination of the service. Tiscali TV was launched in mid-2007 and has so far attracted about 50,000 subscribers. It was the third entrant into the IPTV business following Fastweb TV and Telecom Italy. Initially only available in Cagliari, Roma and Milan, the service was subsequently also rolled out in Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Naples, Palermo and Turin. There were also plans to take it national. Tiscali TV offered a number of personalised TV services but failed to contract programming from Sky Italia.

Success with IPTV is clearly not easy. This shows the importance of content. It is not possible to succeed in Italy without Sky Italia content.

Tiscali to Expand IPTV Footprint in Italy

Tiscali announced that its IPTV service is now available in nine citiees in Italy. It just added six cities (Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Naples, Palermo and Turin) in addition to the three cities that it launched in December 2007 (Cagliari, Milan and Rome). It can provide IPTV service to 4 million lines today and plans to be able to provide it to 9 million lines by the end of 2008.

Tiscali's IPTV service includes 48 hour time shifting, video on demand, and HD programming. It has content agreements with Disney and Sony.

Tiscali has not announced the number of IPTV subscribers that it serves either in Italy or in France. As usual, I assume that this is because the numbers are nothing to brag about.

Tiscali Launches IPTV in Italy

Tiscali has launched Tiscali TV in Caligari, Milan, and Rome. The service will be offered over all of Italy in 2008 and will be offered for free until the end of March, 2008. Tiscali TV offers 50 TV broadcast channels and supports both HD and video on demand content. It also offers an NPVR service that makes all broadcast programs available for 48 hours after their original broadcast. The service also gives the users the ability to create a personalized electronic program guide.

IPTV is offered by FastWeb, Telecom Italia, and Wind in Italy. Tiscali needs an IPTV offering in this market to remain competitive.

Tiscali UK Aims for 200K Subscribers

Tiscali UK intends to have a total of 200 thousand IPTV subscribers by the end of 2008. It hopes to have 50 thousand IPTV subscribers by the end of 2007, which will bring it back up to its previous high water mark. It is currently adding 250 new subscribers per day.

Tiscali UK will begin a major marketing campaign in January 2008. It currently has 2 million broadband subscribers and covers 55 percent of the market.

IPTV is becoming an important component of a broadband strategy in the UK. BT is now offering its BT Vision IPTV service and Orange is about to introduce its own IPTV service in the UK. It is important that Tiscali UK strengthen its IPTV offering to remain competitive.

Tiscali UK Expanding IPTV Service

Tiscali UK was supporting IPTV at 450 exchanges in the UK and can now offer the service to 34 percent of UK homes. While the number of IPTV subscribers has decreased to 36 thousand since the beginning of the year, the company stated that it is now added new subscribers at a rate of 250 per day. Its ARPU for IPTV customers now stands at GBP40 ($US82) per month.

Tiscali has been doing a lot of work to absorb Video Networks, which had established an IPTV service and had reached over 50 thousand subscribers. With its national expansion, it appears that Tiscali is turning this situation around and will become a significant factor in the UK pay TV market.

Tiscali UK to go National

Tiscali UK plans to extend its IPTV service nationally. Its broadband service should be available to 10 million homes in the UK by the end of 2007. The service includes:

• Over 60 TV & radio channels
• Over 350 on demand programs
• On demand access to over 1,000 movies
• Free 7 day BBC, C4 and FX NPVR catch up service
• Phone line rental included
• Set-top box and free wireless router included
• £30 ($60) setup fee

This services will offer two broadband/TV packages:

• Up to 2 Mbps for £19.99 ($40) per month with all UK and international weekend calls
• Up to 8 Mbps for £24.99 ($50) per month with all UK and international anytime calls

Also available for an extra £22 ($44) per month will also get you the Sky Sports channels.

Tiscali UK is attempting to significantly improve its position in the UK broadband market. This should help. The broadcast content differentiates it from the BT Vision. Its package is similar to the successful broadband packages available in France.

Tiscali to Launch IPTV in Italy

Tiscali plans to launch an IPTV service in Italy in October 2007. It has received rights to broadcast RAI content. RAI is the primary TV broadcaster in Italy. Tiscali has an IPTV service in the UK . It has a total of 3.3 million customers in Italy and the UK, with 2 million subscribing to ADSL .

The Italian market is heating up. Wind in Italy is also considering an IPTV service and has signed on with Microsoft for a trial of its Mediaroom software.

Tiscali UK adds 19,000 IPTV Subscribers

An Ofcom report cited that Tiscali UK added 19,000 IPTV subscribers in the first quarter of 2007. Its total now stands at 62 thousand.

This is 44 percent growth in one quarter, but the numbers are relatively small given the size of the market and that this service has been available for several years. If Tiscali can maintain growth of 20 thousand per subscriber it should double its subscriber base and move itself into a better position. Things will get tougher for them as BT's BT Vision IPTV service gathers momentum, though.